p 
it 


BOOK'b   fLLV^TRATCD  BY 
Cr\AJM_L3  KOD1NJ5ONO 


A  CMILD'S  GAKDCNOr 

BY 

THC  CHILD 

DX  CABFvlCL  5LTOVN 


BY  n.  D  LOWFsY 
LULLABY-LAND 
BY  CVGCNE 
KING  LONCDEAKD 

BY  DARLINGTON  rvw:  CKEICOR- 


ACHILD5= 
CARDOfor 


•ERT-LOVTS 
STEVENSON 


LONDON:  £3  c^ 

IOHN  LANE 


Copyright  in  America 
All  rights  reserved 


NEW   EDITION 


WILLIAM   BKBKDON    *HD  4OJJ,    l,TD.,   PRINTERS,    PLTMOOTH,   RNQLANO 


(~)T?    THE  LONG  NIGHTS  YOU  LAY  AWAKE 

AND  WATCHED  FOR   MY   UNWORTHY  SAKE; 
FOR  YOUR   MOST   COMFORTABLE   HAND 
THAT  LED  ME  THROUGH  THE   UNEVEN  LAND: 
FOR  ALL  THE  STORY  BOOKS  YOU  READ: 
FOR  ALL  THE  PAINS  YOU  COMFORTED: 
FOR  ALL  YOU  PITIED,  ALL  YOU  BORE. 
IN  SAD  AND   HAPPY   DAYS  OF  YORE  :— 
MY  SECOND   MOTHER.   MY  FIRST  WIFE. 
THE  ANGEL  OF   MY  INFANT  LIFE— 
FROM   THE  SICK  CHILD,   NOW   WELL  AND   OLD. 
TAKE,  NURSE.  THE  LITTLE  BOOK  YOU   HOLD  I 

AND  GRANT  IT,   HEAVEN,  THAT  ALL  WHO   READ 
MAY  FIND   AS   DEAR   A   NURSE  AT  NEED, 
AND   EVERY  CHILD  WHO  LISTS   MY  RHYME. 
IN  THE  BRIGHT,  FIRESIDE,  NURSERY  CLIME, 
MAY   HEAR   IT   IN   AS   KIND   A   VOICE 
AS  MADE   MY  CHILDISH   DAYS   REJOICE  I 

R.   L.   S. 


2051141 


^-—r 


Bed  in  Summer 

A   Thought 

At  the  Seaside 

Young  Night   Thought 

Whole  Duty  of  Children 

Rain 

Pirate  Story 

Foreign  Lands 

Windy  Nights 

Travel 

Singing 

Looking  Fonvard 

A  Good  Play 

Where  Go  the  Boats  ? 


Page    3 

5 

6 

7 

9 

10 

11 

13 

15 

17 

20 

21 

22 

24- 


CONTENTS 

Aunties  Skirts  -*%«    26 

The  Land  of  Counterpane  27 

The  Land  of  Nod  29 

My  Shadow  32 

System  34 

A  Good  Boy  36 

Escape  at  Bedtime  38 

Marching  Song  40 

The  Com  42 

Happy  Thought  44 

The   Wind  45 

Keepsake  Mill  47 

Good  a«d  Bad  Children  4& 

Foreign  Children  51 

SHM'*  Travels  53 

Lamplighter  55 

My  .Bed  w  a  Boa/  57 

TVw?  Moon  59 

The  Swing  62 

Time  to  Rise  64 

Looking-Glass  River  65 

Fairy  Bread  67 

From  a  Railway  Carriage  68 

Winter-Time  70 

TAe  J/ayfo/i  72 

Fareivell  to  the  Farm  74 


CONTENTS 


North- West  Passage 

1.  Good  Night 

2.  Shadow  March 

3.  In  Port 


Page    76 

77 
78 


THE   CHILD  ALONE 


The  Unseen  Playmate 

My  Ship  and  I 

My  Kingdom 

Picture  Books  in   Winter 

My  Treasures 

Block  City 

The  Land  of  Story-BooJts 

Armies  in  the  Fire 

The  Little  Land 


81 
83 
85 
87 
89 
91 
93 
95 
97 


CONTEN7TS 


GARDEN  DAYS 


Night  and  Day 
Nest  Eggs 
The  Flowers 
Summer  Sun 
The  Dumb  Soldier 
Autumn  Fires 
The  Gardenei 
Historical  Associations 


Page  103 
107 
110 
112 
114 
117 
119 
121 


ENVOYS 

To   Willie  and  Henrietta 
To  my  Mother 
*  To  Auntie 
To  Minnie 
To  my  Name-Child 
To  any  Reader 


125 
127 
128 
129 
133 
136 


ACHILDS 
GAKDENaf 

Verses .  .  „  . 


IN  winter  I  get  up  at  night 
And  dress  by  yellow  candle-light. 
In  summer,  quite  the  other  way, 
I  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day. 


I  have  to  go  to  bed  and  see 
The  birds  still  hopping  on  the  tree, 
Or  hear  the  grown-up  people's  feet 
Still  going  past  ine  in  the  street. 


BED   IN   SUMMER 


And  does  it  not  seem  hard  to  you. 
When  all  the  sky  is  clear  and  blue. 
And  I  should  like  so  much  to  play, 
To  have  to  go  to  bed  by  day? 


ts  very  nice  to  think 

The  \wr1d  is  full  of  - 
-  meat  and  drink 
children*      * 


-saying  Qjracc 
v  Chris 


in  every-  Christian  - 
-  kind  of  place 


ATnouofit. 


I  was  down  beside  the 
A  wooden  spade  they  gave  to  me 
To  dig  the  $andy  shore  . 
My  holes  were  emp^r  hk«  a  cup  , 
In  every  hole  the  stacamc  up  . 
it  could  come  no  more  . 


ffieoeaside . 


•<fi    -  "\OUNG 


LL  night  long  and  every  night, 

When  my  mamma  puts  out  the  light, 
I  see  the  people  marching  by, 
As  plain  as  day,  before  my  eye. 


Armies  and  emperors  and  kings, 
All  carrying  different  kinds  of  things, 
And  marching  in  so  grand  a  way, 
You  never  saw  the  like  by  day. 

So  fine  a  show  was  never  seen, 
At  the  great  circus  on  the  green  ; 
For  every  kind  of  beast  and  man 
Is  marching  in  that  caravan. 


YOUNG   NIGHT  THOUGHT 

At  first  they  move  a  little  slow, 
But  stUl  the  faster  OB  they  go, 
And  still  beside  them  close  I  keep 
Until  we  reach  the  town  of  Sleep. 


HOLE  DUT) 


•  HE  rain  is  raining  all  around, 

It  fells  on  field  and  tree  , 
it  rains  on  the  umbrellas  here, 
And  on  the  stops  at  sea  . 


10 


FW1X  5TOKY 


THREE  of  us   afloat   in   the   meadow   by  the 
swing, 

Three  of  us  aboard  in  the  basket  on  the  lea. 
Winds   are   in   the   air,   they   are   blowing   in   the 

spring, 

And  waves   are   on   the   meadow   like   the  waves 
there  are  at  sea. 


Where  shall  we  adventure  to-day  that  we  're  afloat, 
Wary  of  the  weather  and  steering  by  a  star  ? 

Shall  it  be  to  Africa,  a-steering  of  the  boat, 
To  Providence,  or  Babylon,  or  off  to  Malabar  ? 


11 


PIRATE   STORY 

Hi !  but  here's  a  squadron  a-rowing  on  the  sea — 
Cattle  on  the  meadow  a-charging  with  a  roar  ! 
Quick,   and  well   escape   them,  they're  as  mad  as 

they  can  be, 

The   wicket  is   the   harbour  and    the    garden   is 
the  shore. 


P  into  the  cherry  tree 
Who  should  climb  but  little  me  ? 
I  held  the  trunk  with  both  my  hands 
And  looked  abroad  on  foreign  lands. 

I  saw  the  next  door  garden  lie, 
Adorned  with  flowers  before  my  eye, 
And  many  pleasant  places  more 
That  I  had  never  seen  before. 
13 


FOREIGN   LANDS 

I  saw  the  dimpling  river  pass 
And  be  the  sky's  blue  looking-glass ; 
The  dusty  roads  go  up  and  down 
With  people  tramping  in  to  town. 

If  I  could  find  a  higher  tree 
Farther  and  farther  I  should  see, 
To  where  the  grown-up  river  slips 
Into  the  sea  among  the  ships, 

To  where  the  roads  on  either  hand 
Lead  onward  into  fairy  land, 
Where  all  the  children  dine  at  five, 
And  all  the  playthings  come  alive. 


HENEVER  the  moon  and  stars 

are  set, 
Whenever  the  wind  is  high, 
All  night  long  in  the  dark  and  wet, 

A  man  goes  riding  by. 
Late  in  the  night  when  the  fires  are  out, 
Why  does  he  gallop  and  gallop  about  ? 


WINDY   NIGHTS 

Whenever  the  trees  are  crying  aloud, 
And  ships  are  tossed  at  sea, 

By,  on  the  highway,  low  and  loud, 
By  at  the  gallop  goes  he; 

By  at  the  gallop  he  goes,  and  then 

By  he  comes  back  at  the  gallop  again. 


16 


1    SHOULD  like  to  rise  and  go 
Where  the  golden  apples  grow  ; — 
Where  below  another  sky 
Parrot  islands  anchored  lie, 
And,  watched  by  cockatoos  and  goats, 
Lonely  Crusoes  building  boats ; — 
Where  in  sunshine  reaching  out 
Eastern  cities,  miles  about, 
Are  with  mosque  and  minaret 
Among  sandy  gardens  set, 
And  the  rich  goods  from  near  and  far 
Hang  for  sale  in  the  bazaar; — 

17 


TRAVEL 

Where  the  Great  Wall  round  China  goes, 

And  on  one  side  the  desert  blows, 

And  with  bell  and  voice  and  drum, 

Cities  on  the  other  hum  ; — 

Where  are  forests,  hot  as  fire, 

Wide  as  England,  tall  as  a  spire, 

Full  of  apes  and  cocoa-nuts 

And  the  negro  hunters'  huts ; — 

Where  the  knotty  crocodile 

Lies  and  blinks  in  the  Nile, 

And  the  red  flamingo  flies 

Hunting  fish  before  his  eyes ; — 

Where  in  jungles  near  and  far, 

Man-devouring  tigers  are, 

Lying  close  and  giving  ear 

Lest  the  hunt  be  drawing  near, 

Or  a  comer-by  be  seen 

Swinging  in  a  palanquin : — 

Where  among  the  desert  sands 

Some  deserted  city  stands, 

All  its  children,  sweep  and  prince, 

Grown  to  manhood  ages  since, 

Not  a  foot  in  street  or  house, 

Not  a  stir  of  child  or  mouse, 

And  when  kindly  falls  the  night, 

In  all  the  town  no  spark  of  light. 

There  I'll  come  when  I'm  a  man 

With  a  camel  caravan  ; 

Light  a  fire  in  the  gloom 

Of  some  dusty  dining-room  ; 


TRAVEL 

See  the  pictures  on  the  walls, 
Heroes,  fights  and  festivals; 
And  in  a  corner  find  the  toys 
Of  the  old  Egyptian  boys. 


19 


RINGING  « 


•  4. 


* 


speckled  eggs  the  birdie  sings 
And  nests  among  the  trees ; 
The  sailor  sings  of  ropes  and  things 
In  ships  upon  the  seas. 


The  children  sing  in  far  Japan, 
The  children  sing  in  Spain ; 

The  organ  with  the  organ  man 
Is  singing  in  the  rain. 


20 


"VI  7TTEAI I  am  grcovn  ro  maris  estate ; 
»»    I  shall  be  very  proud  and 
And  tell  the  other  girfc  and  bqrs      1 1  y 
Not  to  meddle  uiih  my  toys  . 


21 


WE  built   a  ship   upon    the 
stairs 
All  made    of  the    back-bedroom 

chairs, 

And  filled  it  full  of  sofa  pillows 
To  go  a-sailing  on  the  billows. 


We  took  a  saw  and  several  nails, 
And  water  in  the  nursery  pails  ; 
And  Tom  said,  '  Let  us  also  take 
An  apple  and  a  slice  of  cake  ; ' — 
Which  was  enough  for  Tom  and 

me 
To  go  a-sailing  on,  till  tea. 


A   GOOD   PLAY 

We  sailed  along  for  days  and  days, 
And  had  the  very  best  of  plays  ; 
But  Tom  fell  out  and  hurt  his  knee, 
So  there  was  no  one  left  but  me. 


53 


DOATS? 


ARK  brown  is  the  river, 
Golden  is  the  sand. 
It  flows  along  for  ever, 
With  trees  on  either  hand. 


Green  leaves  a-floating, 

Castles  of  the  foam, 
Boats  of  mine  a-boating — 

Where  will  all  come  home? 


On  goes  the  river 

And  out  past  the  mill, 
Away  down  the  valley, 

Awav  down  the  hill. 

24 


WHERE  GO  THE  BOATS? 

Away  down  the  river, 

A  hundred  miles  or  more, 

Other  little  children 

Shall  bring  my  boats  ashore. 


hcnever  v 
Aunt  ic  .mo\ 

H.   ..    arou 
er 

make  c 
Curious  : 


ficfifad  rier  up  the 
flooir 

And  trundle 
after  ihrauch 
the  door. . 


The 


'AMD 


HEN  I  was  sick  and  lay  a-bed, 
I  had  two  pillows  at  my  head, 
And  all  my  toys  beside  me  lay 
To  keep  me  happy  all  the  day. 


And  sometimes  for  an  hour  or  so 
I  watched  my  leaden  soldiers  go, 
With  different  uniforms  and  drills, 
Among  the  bed-clothes,  through  the  hills; 


And  sometimes  sent  my  ships  in  fleets 
All  up  and  down  among  the  sheets  ; 
Or  brought  my  trees  and  houses  out, 
And  planted  cities  all  about. 
27 


THE  LAND  OF  COUNTERPANE 

I  was  the  giant  great  and  still 
That  sits  upon  the  pillow-hill, 
And  sees  before  him,  dale  and  plain, 
The  pleasant  land  of  counterpane. 


CHJ' 


or* 


OD 


ROM   breakfast  on  through  all 

the  day 
At   home   among    my  friends 

I  stay ; 

But  every  night  I  go  abroad 
Afar  into  the  Land  of  Nod. 


All  by  myself  I  have  to  go, 

With  none  to  tell  me  what  to  do — 

All  alone  beside  the  streams 

And  up  the  mountain-sides  of  dreams. 


cT<p  fhr 

mountain 
sides  of 
dreams'? 


THE  LAND   OF  NOD 

The  strangest  things  are  there  for  me, 
Both  things  to  eat  and  things  to  see, 
And  many  frightening  sights  abroad 
Till  morning  in  the  Land  of  Nod. 

Try  as  I  like  to  find  the  way, 
I  never  can  get  back  by  day, 
Nor  can  remember  plain  and  clear 
The  curious  music  that  I  hear. 


31 


I    HAVE   a   little   shadow   that   goes   in   and   ou 
with  me, 
And  what  can  be  the  use  of  him   is   more   than   1 

can  see. 
He   is   very,   very   like   me   from   the   heels   up   to 

the  head  ; 

And  I  see  him  jump  before  me,  when  I  jump 
into  my  bed. 

The  funniest  thing  about  him  is  the  way  he  likes 
to  grow — 

Not  at  all  like  proper  children,  which  is  always 
very  slow ; 

For  he  sometimes  shoots  up  taller,  like  an  india- 
rubber  ball, 

And  he  sometimes  gets  so  Jittle  that  there's  none 
of  him  at  all. 

He  hasn't   got  a  notion  of  how   children   ought   to 

play, 
And  can  only  make  a  fool  of  me  in   every   sort   of 

way. 


MY   SHADOW 

He   stays   so   close   beside   me,   he's  a  coward  you 

can  see  ; 
I'd  think   shame  to  stick  to  nursie  as  that  shadow 

sticks  to  me  ! 

One  morning,  very  early,  before  the  sun  was  up, 

I    rose   and   found   the   shining  dew  on  every  but- 
tercup ; 

But  my  lazy  little   shadow,   like   an   arrant  sleepy- 
head, 

Had  stayed   at  home   behind   me  and   was  fast 
asleep  in  bed. 


VERY  night  my  prayers  I  say, 
And  get  my  dinner  every  day ; 
And  every  day  that  I've  been  good, 
I  get  an  orange  after  food 


SYSTEM 

The  child  that  is  not  clean  and  neat, 
With  lots  of  toys  and  things  to  eat, 
He  is  a  naughty  child,  I'm  sure — 
Or  else  his  dear  papa  is  poor. 


WOKE  before  the  morning,  I  was 

happy  all  the  day, 
I  never  said   an   ugly  word,  but   smiled   and   stuck 
to  play. 


And   now  at   last   the   sun   is  going   down   behind 

the  wood, 
And  I  am  very  happy,  for   I   know  that  I've   been 

good. 


My   bed    is    waiting    cool    and    fresh,    with    linen 

smooth  and  fair, 
And  I  must  off  to   sleepsin-by,  and   not  forget  my 

prayer. 


I   know   that,   till   to-morrow    I   shall   see   the   sun 

arise, 
No   ugly   dream    shall    fright   my    mind,    no    ugly 

sight  niv  eyejs, 

36 


A  GOOD   BOY 

But  slumber  hold  me   tightly  till   I   waken   in   the 

dawn, 
And  hear  the  thrushes  singing  in   the   lilacs  round 

the  lawn. 


S7 


THE  lights  from  the  parlour  and 
kitchen  shone  out 
Through  the  blinds  and  the  windows 

and  bars; 
And  high  overhead  and  all  moving 

about, 

There  were  thousands  of  millions  of  stars. 
There   ne'er   were   such   thousands   of  leaves   on   a 

tree, 

Nor  of  people  in  church  or  the  Park, 
As  the  crowds  of  the  stars  that  looked  down  upon 

me, 
And  that  glittered  and  winked  in  the  dark. 


ESCAPE  AT   BEDTIME 

The    Dog,   and   the    Plough,  and    the    Hunter,  and 
all, 

And  the  star  of  the  sailor,  and  Mars, 
These  shone  in  the  sky,  and  the  pail  by  the  wall, 

Would  be  half  full  of  water  and  stars. 
They  saw  me   at   last,   and   they   chased   me   with 
cries, 

And  they  soon  had  me  packed  into  bed  ; 
But  the  glory  kept  shining  and  bright  in  my  eyes, 

And  the  stars  going  round  in  my  head. 


-  5ONG  • 


BRING  the  comb  and  play  upon  it ! 
Marching,  here  we  come  ! 
Willie  cocks  his  highland  bonnet, 
Johnnie  beats  the  drum. 

Mary  Jane  commands  the  party, 

Peter  leads  the  rear ; 
Fleet  in  time,  alert  and  hearty, 

Each  a  Grenadier  ! 

All  in  the  most  martial  manner 

Marching  double-quick  ; 
While  the  napkin  like  a  banner 

Waves  upon  the  stick ! 


MARCHING  SONG 

Here's  enough  of  fame  and  pillage, 

Great  commander  Jane  ! 
Now  that  we've  been  round  the  village, 

Let's  go  home  again. 


THE  friendly  cow  all  red  and  white, 
I  love  with  all  ray  heart : 
She  gives  me  cream  with  all  her  might, 
TO  eat  with  apple-tart. 

42 


THE   COW 

She  wanders  lowing  here  and  there, 

And  yet  she  cannot  stray, 
AJ1  in  the  pleasant  open  air, 

The  pleasant  light  of  day ; 

And  blown  by  all  the  winds  that  pass 
And  wet  with  all  the  showers, 

She  walks  among  the  meadow  grass 
And  eats  the  meadow  flowers. 


so  full 
of  a.  number  of  thin0  , 

\vc  should  all 
be 


IflE 


I    SAW  you  toss  the  kites  on  high 
And  blow  the  birds  about  the  sky ; 
And  all  around  I  heard  you  pass, 
Like  ladies'  skirts  across  the  grass — 
O  wind,  a-blowing-  all  day  long, 
O  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song  ! 


I  saw  the  different  things  you  did, 
But  always  you  yourself  you  hid. 
I  felt  you  push,  I  heard  you  call, 
I  could  not  see  yourself  at  all — 

O  wind,  a-blowing  all  day  long, 
O  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song 


THE  WIND 

O  you  that  are  so  strong  and  cold, 
O  blower,  are  you  young  or  old  ? 
Are  you  a  beast  of  field  and  tree, 
Or  just  a  stronger  child  than  me? 
O  wind,  a-blowing  all  day  long, 
O  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song ! 


/!  KEEF3\KE  MILL 


VER  the  borders,  a  sin  without  pardon, 
Breaking   the    branches    and   crawling 

below, 

Out  through  the  breach  in  the  wall  of  the  garden, 
Down  by  the  banks  of  the  river,  we  go. 

Here  is  the  mill  with  the  humming  of  thunder, 
Here  is  the  weir  with  the  wonder  of  foam, 

Here  is  the  sluice  with  the  race  running  under — 
Marvellous  places,  though  handy  to  home  ! 

Sounds  of  the  village  grow  stiller  and  stiller, 

Stiller  the  note  of  the  birds  on  the  hill ; 
>usty  and  dim  are  the  eyes  of  the  miller, 
Deaf  are  his  ears  with  the  moil  of  the  mill. 


iears  may  go  by,  and  the  wheel  in  the  river 
Wheel  as  it  wheels  for  us,  children,  to-day, 

Wheel  and  keep  roaring  and  foaming  for  ever 
Long  after  all  of  the  boys  are  away, 


KEEPSAKE   MILL 

Home  from  the  Indies  and  home  from  the  ocean, 
Heroes  and  soldiers  we  all  shall  come  home ; 

Still  we  shall  find  the  old  mill  wheel  in  motion, 
Turning  and  churning  that  river  to  foam. 

You  with  the  bean  that  I  gave  when  we 
quarrelled, 

I  with  your  marble  of  Saturday  last, 
Honoured  and  old  and  all  gaily  apparelled, 

Here  we  shall  meet  and  remember  the  past. 


TOHT- 1 
QUHRKELLED1 


HILDREN,  you  are  very  little, 
And  your  bones  are  very  brittle; 
If  you  would  grow  great  and  stately, 
You  must  try  to  walk  sedately. 

You  must  still  be  bright  and  quiet, 
And  content  with  simple  diet ; 
And  remain,  through  all  bewild'ring, 
Innocent  and  honest  children. 


Happy  hearts  and  happy  faces, 
Happy  play  in  grassy  places — 
That  was  how,  in  ancient  ages, 
Children  grew  to  kings  and  sages. 

But  the  unkind  and  the  unruly, 
And  the  sort  who  eat  unduly, 
They  must  never  hope  for  glory — 
Theirs  is  quite  a  different  story  ! 
49 


GOOD   AND   BAD   CHILDREN 

Cruel  children,  crying  babies, 
All  grow  up  as  geese  and  gabies, 
Hated,  as  their  age  increases, 
By  their  nephews  and  their  nieces 


FOREIGN 

CHILDREN! 


T    ITTLE  Indian,  Sioux  or  Crow, 
I—/     Little  frosty  Eskimo, 
Little  Turk  or  Japanee, 
O  !  don't  you  wish  that  you  were  me? 

You  have  seen  the  scarlet  trees 

And  the  lions  over  seas ; 

You  have  eaten  ostrich  eggs, 

And  turned  the  turtles  off  their  legs. 

^ 
Such  a  life  is  very  fine, 

But  it 's  not  so  nice  as  mine  : 
You  must  often,  as  you  trod, 
Have  wearied  not  to  be  abroad. 


51 


FOREIGN   CHILDREN 

You  have  curious  things  to  eat, 
I  am  fed  on  proper  meat ; 
You  must  dwell  beyond  the  foam. 
But  I  am  safe  and  live  at  home. 

Little  Indian,  Sioux  or  Crow, 
Little  frosty  Eskimo, 
Little  Turk  or  Japanee, 
O !  don't  you  wish  that  you  were  me  ? 


THE 


HE  sun  is  not  a-bed,  when  I 
At  night  upon  my  pillow  lie ; 
Still  round  the  earth  his  way 

he  takes, 
And  morning  after  morning  makes. 


While  here  at  home,  in  shining  day, 
We  round  the  sunny  garden  play, 
Each  little  Indian  sleepy-head 
Is  being  kissed  and  put  to  bed. 


THE    SUN'S  TRAVELS 

And  when  at  eve  I  rise  from  tea, 
Day  dawns  beyond  the  Atlantic  Sea, 
And  all  the  children  in  the  West 
Are  getting  up  and  being  dressed. 


54 


THE 
LAMP 
LIOHTEK 

MY  tea   is   nearly  ready  and   the   sun   has  left 
the  sky; 
It 's  time  to  take  the  window  to  see  Leerie  going 

by; 
For  every  night  at   tea-time   and   before   you  take 

your  seat, 

With  lantern  and  with  ladder  he  comes  posting  up 
the  street. 


Now  Tom  would   be  a  driver  and  Maria  go  to  sea, 
And     my    papa 's    a    banker    and    as    rich    as    he 

can  be ; 
But   I,  when  I   am   stronger   and   can   choose  what 

I  'm  to  do, 
O   Leerie,  I'll   go   round    at   night   and  light  the 

lamps  with  you ! 

55 


THE   LAMPLIGHTER 

For   we   are   very   lucky,   with    a   lamp   before    the 

door, 
And  Leerie  stops  to  light  it  as  he  lights  so   many 

more ; 
And  O  !  before  you  hurry  by  with  ladder  and  with 

light, 
O    Leerie,    see    a    little    child    and    nod    to    him 

to-night ! 


56 


MTJBED75 
ABOXT 

BED  is  like  a  little  boat; 
Nurse  helps  me  in  when  I  em- 
bark; 

She  girds  me  in  my  sailor's  coat 
And  starts  me  in  the  dark. 


At  night,  I  go  on  board  and  say 

Good-night  to  all  my  friends  on  shore; 

I  shut  my  eyes  and  sail  away 
And  see  and  hear  no  more. 


And  sometimes  things  to  bed  I  take.. 

As  prudent  sailors  have  to  do: 
Perhaps  a  slice  of  wedding-cake, 

Perhaps  a  toy  or  two. 
57 


MY  BED   IS   A   BOAT 

All  night  across  the  dark  we  steer: 
But  when  the  day  returns  at  last, 

Safe  in  my  room,  beside  the  pier, 
I  find  my  vessel  fast. 


moon  has  a  face  like  the  clock  in  the 
1        hall ; 

She  shines  on  thieves  on  the  garden  wall, 
On  streets  and  fields  and  harbour  quays, 
And  birdies  asleep  in  the  forks  of  the  trees. 


The  squalling  cat  and  the  squeaking  mouse, 
The  howling  dog  by  the  door  of  the  house, 
The  bat  that  lies  in  bed  at  noon, 
All  love  to  be  out  by  the  light  of  the  moon, 


60 


THE   MOON 

But  all  of  the  things  that  belong  to  the  day 
Cuddle  to  sleep  to  be  out  of  her  way ; 
And  flowers  and  children  close  their  eyes 
Till  up  in  the  morning  the  sun  shall  arise. 


OW  do  you  like  to  go  up  in  a 

swing, 

Up  in  the  air  so  blue  ? 
Oh,  I  do  think  it  the  pleasantest  thing 
Ever  a  child  can  do ! 


Up  in  the  air  and  over  the  wall, 

Till  I  can  see  so  wide, 
Rivers  and  trees  and  cattle  and  all 

Over  the  countryside — 


THE  SWING 

Till  I  look  down  on  the  garden  green, 
Down  on  the  roof  so  brown — 

Up  in  the  air  I  go  flying  again, 
Up  in  the  air  and  down ! 


with aydlow  bill     *:: 
Tl'  Hopped  upon  the  window 

;:.~  Sl11' 

!'/  Clocked  his  shining  eye  and 
V,  ^ 

«"  Airft   ou  'shamed, you 

sleepy-head?  J 


LOOKING-GLA^ 


MOOTH  it  slides  upon  its  travel, 
Here  a  wimple,  there  a  gleam — 
O  the  clean  gravel ! 
O  the  smooth  stream  ! 


Sailing  blossoms,  silver  fishes, 
Paven  pools  as  clear  as  air — 
How  a  child  wishes 
To  live  down  there  ! 


We  can  see  our  coloured  faces 
Floating  on  the  shaken  pool 
Down  in  cool  places, 
Dim  and  very  cool ; 


65 


LOOKING-GLASS   RIVER 

Till  a  wind  or  water  wrinkle, 
Dipping  marten,  plumping  trout, 
Spreads  in  a  twinkle 
And  blots  all  out. 


See  the  rings  pursue  each  other; 
All  below  grows  black  as  night, 
Just  as  if  mother 
Had  blown  out  the  light ! 

Patience,  children,  just  a  minute — 
See  the  spreading  circles  die ; 
The  stream  and  all  in  it 
Will  clear  by-and-by. 


QME  up  hene.'O  dustx  text  \ 
V— *    Hoc  Is  f  airy  bread  to  cat . 
Here  in  my  retiring  room  . 
Children  you  may  dine 
On  the  ^golden  smell  of  broom 
And  the  shade  of  pine ; 
And  when  you  have  eaicn  wiefl, 
stories  hear  and  ten. 


67 


ASTER  than  fairies,  faster  than 

witches, 
Bridges  and  houses,  hedges  and 

ditches ; 

And  charging  along  like  troops  in  a  battle, 
All  through  the  meadows  the  horses  and  cattle  : 
All  of  the  sights  of  the  hill  and  the  plain 
Fly  as  thick  as  driving  rain; 
And  ever  again,  in  the  wink  of  an  eye, 
Painted  stations  whistle  by. 


Here  is  a  child  who  clambers  and  scrambles, 

All  by  himself  and  gathering  brambles ; 

Here  is  a  tramp  who  stands  and  gazes ; 

And  there  is  the  green  for  stringing  the  daisies  ! 


FROM  A   RAILWAY   CARRIAGE 

Here  is  a  cart  run  away  in  the  road 
Lumping  along  with  man  and  load; 
And  here  is  a  mill  and  there  is  a  river: 
Each  a  glimpse  and  gone  for  ever ! 


69 


lies  the  wintry  sun  a-bed, 
A  frosty,  fiery  sleepy-head ; 
Blinks  but  an  hour  or  two;  and  then, 
A  blood-red  orange,  sets  again. 

Before  the  stars  have  left  the  skies, 
At  morning  in  the  dark  I  rise ; 
And  shivering  in  my  nakedness, 
By  the  cold  candle,  bathe  and  dress. 


70 


WINTER-TIME 

Close  by  the  jolly  fire  I  sit 
To  warm  my  frozen  bones  a  bit; 
Or,  with  a  reindeer-sled,  explore 
The  colder  countries  round  the  door. 

When  to  go  out,  my  nurse  doth  wrap 
Me  in  my  comforter  and  cap : 
The  cold  wind  burns  my  face,  and  blows 
Its  frosty  pepper  up  my  nose. 

Black  are  my  steps  on  silver  sod ; 
Thick  blows  my  frosty  breath  abroad ; 
And  tree  and  house,  and  hill  and  lake, 
Are  frosted  like  a  wedding-cake. 


71 


THE 


H  ROUGH  all  the  pleasant  meadow-side 

The  grass  grew  shoulder-high, 
Till  the  shining  scythes  went  far  and 

wide 
And  cut  it  down  to  dry. 


These  green  and  sweetly  smelling  crops 

They  led  in  waggons  home; 
And  they  piled  them  here  in  mountain  tops 

For  mountaineers  to  roam. 


Here  is  Mount  Clear,  Mount  Rusty-Nail, 
Mount  Eagle  and  Mount  High; — 

The  mice  that  in  these  mountains  dwell, 
No  happier  are  than  1 1 


THE   HAYLOFT 

O  what  a  joy  to  clamber  there, 

O  what  a  place  for  play, 
With  the  sweet,  the  dim,  the  dusty  air, 

The  happy  hills  of  hay. 


HE  coach  is  at  the  door  at  last ; 
The  eager  children,  mounting  fast 
And  kissing  hands,  in  chorus  sing  : 
Good-bye,   good-bye,  to  everything  ! 


To  house  and  garden,  field  and  lawn, 
The  meadow-gates  we  swang  upon, 
To  pump  and  stable,  tree  and  swing, 
Good-bye,  good-bye,  to  everything  ! 


And  fare  you  well  for  evermore, 
O  ladder  at  the  hayloft  door, 
O  hayloft,  where  the  cobwebs  cling, 
Good-bye,  good-bye,  to  everything! 


74 


FAREWELL  TO   THE   FARM 

Crack  goes  the  whip,  and  off  we  go  ; 
The  trees  and  houses  smaller  grow  ; 
Last,  round  the  woody  turn  we  swing: 
Good-bye,  good-bye,  to  everything  I 


75 


OOOE> 
SIGHT 


HEN  the  bright  lamp  is 

canned  in, 
)       The  sunless  hours  again  begin  ; 
O'er  all  without,  in  field  and  lane, 
The  haunted  night  returns  again. 

Now  we  behold  the  embers  flee 
About  the  firelit  hearth ;  and  see 
Our  faces  painted  as  we  pass, 
Like  pictures,  on  the  window-glass. 

Must  we  to  bed,  indeed?   Well  then, 
Let  us  arise  and  go  like  men, 
And  face  with  an  undaunted  tread 
The  long,  black  passage  up  to  bed. 

Farewell,  O  brother,  sister,  sire  ! 
O  pleasant  party  round  the  fire? 
The  songs  you  sing,  the  tales  you 

tell, 
Till  far  to-morrow,  fare  ye  well ! 


| 

NORTH-\VE5T     \ 
PASSACE  .    £ 


LL  round  the  house  is  the 

jet-black  night : 

It  stares  through  the  window-pane  ; 
It  crawls  in  the  corners,  hiding  from  the  light, 
And  it  moves  with  the  moving  flame. 

Now  my  little  heart   goes  a-beating  like  a 

drum, 

With  the  breath  of  the  Bogie  in  my  hair; 
And  all  round  the   candle   the   crooked 

shadows  come 
And  go  marching  along  up  the  stair. 

The   shadow   of  the   balusters,   the   shadow 

of  the  lamp, 

The  shadow  of  the  child  that  goes  to  bed — 
All   the   wicked   shadows   coming,   tramp, 

tramp,  tramp, 
With  the  black  night  overhead. 


IN 
rOKT. 

[AST,  to  the  chamber  where 

I  lie 

My  fearful  footsteps  patter  nigh, 
And  come  from  out  the  cold  and  gloom 
Into  my  warm  and  cheerful  room. 

There,  safe  arrived,  we  turn  about 
To  keep  the  coming  shadows  out, 
And  close  the  happy  door  at  last 
On  all  the  perils  that  we  past. 

Then,  when  mamma  goes  by  to  bed, 
She  shall  come  in  with  tip-toe  tread, 
And  see  me  lying  warm  and  fast 
And  in  the  Land  of  Nod  at  last. 


V 


'THE 


WHEN   children   are  playing  alone   on  the 
green, 

In  comes  the  playmate   that   never  was  seen. 
VVhen  children  are  happy  and  lonely  and  good, 
The   Friend   of  the    Children   comes   out   of  the 
wood. 

Nobody  heard  him  and  nobody  saw, 

His  is  a  picture  you  never  could  draw, 

But  he's  sure  to  be  present,  abroad  or  at  home, 

When  children  are  happy  and  playing  alone. 

He  lies  in  the  laurels,  he  runs  on  the  grass, 
He  sings  when  you  tinkle  the  musical  glass  ; 
8! 


THE   UNSEEN    PLAYMATE 

Whene'er  you  are  happy  and  cannot  tell  why 
The  Friend  of  the  Children  is  sure  to  be  by.' 

He  loves  to  be  little,  he  hates  to  be  big, 
'T  is  he  that  inhabits  the  caves  that  you  dig  ; 
'T  is  he  when  you  play  with  your  soldiers  of  tin 
That  sides  with  the  Frenchmen  and  never  can  win. 


'T  is  he,  when  at  night  you  go  off  to  your  bed, 
Bids  you   go  to   your   sleep   and   not   trouble   your 

head ; 

For  wherever  they're  lying,  in  cupboard  or  shelf, 
'T  is  he  will  take  care  of  your  playthings  himself! 


MY  SHIP 

AND  I 


OIT'S  I 
ship, 


that   am   the   captain   of  a  tidy  little 


Of  a  ship  that  goes  a-sailing  on  the  pond  ; 

And  my  ship  it  keeps  a-turning  all  around  and  all 

about; 
But  when  I'm  a  little  older,  I  shall  find  the  secret 

out 
How  to  send  my  vessel  sailing  on  beyond. 

For  I  mean  to  grow   as   little   as   the   dolly  at  the 

helm, 

And  the  dolly  I  intend  to  come  alive  ; 
And  with  him  beside   to   help   me,   it's  a-sailing   I 

shall  go, 
It's  a-sailing  on  the  water,  when   the  jolly  breezes 

blow, 
And  the  vessel  goes  a  divie-divie-dive. 

&S 


MY  SHIP  AND   I 

O  it's  then  you'll   see   me   sailing   through   the 

rushes  and  the  reeds, 

And  you'll  hear  the  water  singing  at  the  prow; 
For  beside   the   dolly   sailor,    I'm  to   voyage   and 

explore, 
To   land   upon   the   island   where   no   dolly   was 

before, 
And  to  fire  the  penny  cannon  in  the  bow. 


84 


MY  KINGDOM 


DOWN  by  a  shining  water  well 
I  found  a  very  little  dell, 
No  higher  than  my  head. 
The  heather  and  the  gorse  about 
In  summer  bloom  were  coming  out, 
Some  yellow  and  some  red. 

I  called  the  little  pool  a  sea ; 
The  little  hills  were  big  to  me ; 

For  I  am  very  small. 
I  made  a  boat,  I  made  a  town, 
I  searched  the  caverns  up  and  down, 

And  named  them  one  and  all. 

And  all  about  was  mine,  I  said, 
The  little  sparrows  overhead, 

The  little  minnows  too.  ' 
This  was  the  world  and  I  was  king; 
For  me  the  bees  came  by  to  sing, 

For  me  the  swallows  flew. 
85 


MY   KINGDOM 

I  played,  there  were  no  deeper  seas, 
Nor  any  wider  plains  than  these, 

Nor  other  kings  than  me. 
At  last  I  heard  my  mother  call 
Out  from  the  house  at  evenfall, 

To  call  me  home  to  tea. 

And  I  must  rise  and  leave  my  dell, 
And  leave  my  dimpled  water  well, 

And  leave  my  heather  blooms. 
Alas  !  and  as  my  home  I  neared, 
How  very  big  my  nurse  appeared, 

How  great  and  cool  the  rooms! 


OUMMER  fading,  winter  comes — 
O     Frosty  mornings,  tingling  thumbs, 
Window  robins,  winter  rooks, 
And  the  picture  story-books. 

Water  now  is  turned  to  stone 
Nurse  and  I  can  walk  upon ; 
Still  we  find  the  flowing  brooks 
In  the  picture  story-books. 

All  the  pretty  things  put  by, 
Wait  upon  the  children's  eye, 
Sheep  and  shepherds,  trees  and  crooks 
In  the  picture  story-books. 


87 


PICTURE  BOOKS  IN  WINTER 

We  may  see  how  all  things  are, 
Seas  and  cities,  near  and  far, 
And  the  flying  fairies'  looks, 
In  the  picture  story-books. 

How  am  I  to  sing  your  praise, 
Happy  chimney-corner  days, 
Sitting  safe  in  nursery  nooks, 
Reading  picture  story-books? 


fig 


TREAWE5 


rT"'HESE  nuts,  that  I  keep  in   the   back   of  the 

JL       nest 

Where  all  my  lead  soldiers  are  lying  at  rest, 
Were  gathered  in  autumn  by  nursie  and  me 
In  a  wood  with  a  well  by  the  side  of  the  sea. 

This  whistle  was  made  (and  how  clearly  it  sounds  !) 
By  the  side  of  a  field  at  the  end  of  the  grounds. 
Of  a  branch  of  a  plane,  with  a  knife  of  my  own- 
It  was  nursie  who  made  it,  and  nursie  alone ! 


MY  TREASURES 

The  stone,  with  the  white  and  the  yellow  and  grey, 
We  discovered  I  cannot  tell  how  far  away; 
And  I  carried  it  back  although  weary  and  cold, 
For  though  father  denies  it,  I'm  sure  it  is  gold. 

But  of  all  of  my  treasures  the  last  is  the  king, 
For  there's  very  few  children  possess  such  a  thing ; 
And  that  is  a  chisel,  both  handle  and  blade, 
Which  a  man  who  was  really  a  carpenter  made. 


.*•*•"•. 


WHAT  are  you  able  to  build  with  your  blocks  ? 
Castles  and  palaces,  temples  and  docks. 
Rain  may  keep  raining,  and  others  go  roam, 
But  I  can  be  happy  and  building  at  home. 

Let  the  sofa  be  mountains,  the  carpet  be  sea, 

There  I  '11  establish  a  city  for  me : 

A  kirk  and  a  mill  and  a  palace  beside, 

And  a  harbour  as  well  where  my  vessels  may  ride. 

Great  is  the  palace  with  pillar  and  wall, 
A  sort  of  a  tower  on  the  top  of  it  all, 
And  steps  coming  down  in  an  orderly  way 
To  where  my  toy  vessels  lie  safe  in  the  bay. 

This  one  is  sailing  and  that  one  is  moored : 
Hark  to  the  song  of  the  sailors  on  board  1 
And  see  on  the  steps  of  my  palace,  the  kings 
Coming  and  going  with  presents  and  things ! 
Ql 


BLOCK   CITY 

Now  I  have  done  with  it,  down  let  it  go ! 
All  in  a  moment  the  town  is  laid  low. 
Block  upon  block  lying  scattered  and  free, 
What  is  there  left  of  my  town  by  the  sea? 

Yet  as  I  saw  it,  I  see  it  again, 
The  kirk  and  the  palace,  the  ships  and  the  men, 
And  as  long  as  I  live  and  where'er  I  may  be, 
I'll  always  remember  my  town  by  the  sea. 


THE  LAND 

or 


AT  evening,  when  the  lamp  is  lit, 
Around  the  fire  my  parents  sit; 
They  sit  at  home  and  talk  and  sing, 
And  do  not  play  at  anything. 

Now,  with  my  little  gun,  I  crawl 
All  in  the  dark  along  the  wall, 
And  follow  round  the  forest  track 
Away  behind  the  sofa  back. 

There,  in  the  night,  where  none  can  spy, 
All  in  my  hunter's  camp  I  lie, 
And  play  at  books  that  I  have  read 
Till  it  is  time  to  go  to  bed. 

These  are  the  hills,  these  are  the  woods, 
These  are  my  starry  solitudes  ; 
And  there  the  river  by  whose  brink 
The  roaring  lions  come  to  drink 
93 


THE   LAND   OF  STORY-BOOKS 

I  see  the  others  far  away 
As  if  in  firelit  camp  they  lay, 
And  I,  like  to  an  Indian  scout, 
Around  their  party  prowled  about. 

So,  when  my  nurse  comes  in  for  me, 
Home  I  return  across  the  sea, 
And  go  to  bed  with  backward  looks 
At  my  dear  land  of  Story-books. 


THE  lamps  now  glitter  down  the  street; 
Faintly  sound  the  falling  feet; 
And  the  blue  even  slowly  falls 
About  the  garden  trees  and  walls. 

Now  in  the  falling  of  the  gloom 
The  red  fire  paints  the  empty  room: 
And  warmly  on  the  roof  it  looks, 
And  flickers  on  the  backs  of  books. 


Armies  march  by  tower  and  spire 
Of  cities  blazing,  in  the  fire ; 
Till  as  I  gaze  with  staring  eyes, 
The  armies  fade,  the  lustre  dies. 
95 


ARMIES   IN  THE  FIRE 

Then  once  again  the  glow  returrs ; 
Again  the  phantom  city  burns  ; 
And  down  the  red-hot  valley,  lo . 
The  phantom  armies  marching  go  ! 

Blinking  embers,  tell  me  true, 
Where  are  those  armies  marching  to, 
And  what  the  burning  city  is 
That  crumbles  in  your  furnaces  I 


96 


THE  LITTLE  LAND 

WHEN  at  home  alone  I  sit 
And  am  very  tired  of  it, 
I  have  just  to  shut  my  eyes 
To  go  sailing  through  the  skies — 
To  go  sailing  far  away 
To  the  pleasant  Land  of  Play ; 
To  the  fairy  land  afar 
Where  the  little  people  are  ; 
Where  the  clover-tops  are  trees, 
And  the  rain-pools  are  the  seas, 
And  the  leaves  like  little  ships 
Sail  about  on  tiny  trips ; 
And  above  the  daisy  tree 

Through  the  grasses, 
High  o'erhead  the  Bumble  Bee 

Hums  and  passes. 

97 


THE  LITTLE   LAND 


In  that  forest  to  and  fro 

I  can  wander,  I  can  go; 

See  the  spider  and  the  fly, 

And  the  ants  go  marching  by 

Carrying  parcels  with  their  feet 

Down  the  green  and  grassy  streeti 

/  can  in  the  sorrel  sit 

Where  the  ladybird  alit. 

I  can  climb  the  jointed  grass; 

And  on  high 
See  the  greater  swallows  pass 

In  the  sky, 

And  the  round  sun  rolling  by 
Heeding  no  such  things  as  I. 


Through  that  forest  I  can  pass 
Till,  as  in  a  looking  glass, 
Humming  fly  and  daisy  tree 
And  my  tiny  self  I  see, 
98 


THE   LITTLE  LAND 

Painted  very  clear  and  neat 
On  the  rain-pool  at  my  feet. 
Should  a  leaflet  come  to  land 
Drifting  near  to  where  I  stand, 
Straight  I  '11  board  that  tiny  boat 
Round  the  rain-pool  sea  to  float 


Little  thoughtful  creatures  sit 
On  the  grassy  coasts  of  it ; 
Little  things  with  lovely  eyes 
See  me  sailing  with  surprise. 
Some  are  clad  in  armour  green — 
(These  have  sure  to  battle  been  !) — 
Some  are  pied  with  ev'ry  hue, 
Black  and  crimson,  gold  and  blue; 
Some  have  wings  and  swift  are  gone  ;- 
But  they  all  look  kindly  on. 


When  my  eyes  I  once  again 
Open,  and  see  all  things  plain  : 
High  b^re  walls,  great  bare  floor ; 
99 


THE  LITTLE  LAND 

Great  big  knobs  on  drawer  and  door 
Great  big  people  perched  on  chairs, 
Stitching  tucks  and  mending  tears, 
Each  a  hill  that  I  could  climb, 
And  talking  nonsense  all  the  time — 

O  dear  me, 

That  I  could  be 
A  sailor  on  the  rain-pool  sea, 
A  climber  in  the  clover-tree, 
And  just  come  back,  a  sleepy  head, 
Late  at  night  to  go  to  bed. 


100 


DAY?*, 


101 


NIGHT 

AND 


WHEN  the  golden  day 
is  done, 
Through  the  closing  portal, 
Child  and  garden,  flower  and  sun, 
Vanish  all  things  mortal, 
103 


NIGHT   AND   DAY 

As  the  blinding  shadoAvs  fall, 

As  the  rays  diminish, 
Under  the  evening's  cloak,  they  all 

Roll  away  and  vanish. 


Garden  darkened,  daisy  shut, 
Child  in  bed,  they  slumber — 

Glow-worm  in  the  highway  rut, 
Mice  among  the  lumber. 


In  the  darkness  houses  shine, 
Parents  move  with  candles  ; 

Till  on  all,  the  night  divine 
Turns  the  bedroom  handles. 


104 


NIGHT  AND   DAY 

Till  at  last  the  day  begins 

In  the  east  a-breaking, 
In  the  hedges  and  the  whins 

Sleeping  birds  a-waking. 

In  the  darkness  shapes  of  things, 
Houses,  trees,  and  hedges 

Clearer  grow  ;  and  sparrow's  wings 
Beat  on  window  ledges. 


These  shall  wake  the  yawning  maid  ; 

She  the  door  shall  open — 
Finding  dew  on  garden  glade 

And  the  morning  broken. 

There  my  garden  grows  again 

Green  and  rosy  painted, 
As  at  eve  behind  the  pane 

From  my  eyes  it  fainted. 

Just  as  it  was  shut  away, 

Toy-like,  in  the  even, 
Here  I  see  it  glow  with  day 

Under  glowing  heaven. 
105 


NIGHT  AND   DAY 

Every  path  and  every  plot, 

Every  bush  of  roses, 
Every  blue  forget-me-not 

Where  the  dew  reposes, 

"Up!"  they  cry,  "the  day  is  come 

On  the  smiling  valleys  : 
We  have  beat  the  morning  drum  ; 

Playmate,  join  your  allies  !  " 


106 


I  EDS  all  the  sunny  day 
Flutter  and  quarrel 

Here  in  the  arbour-like 
Tent  of  the  laurel. 


Here  in  the  fork 

The  brown  nest  is  seated  ; 
Four  little  blue  eggs 

The  mother  keeps  heated. 

107 


rfEST  EGGS 

While  we  stand  watching  her, 

Staring  like  gabies, 
Safe  in  each  egg  are  the 

Bird's  little  babies. 

Soon  the  frail  eggs  they  shall 
Chip,  and  upspringing 

Make  all  the  April  woods 
Merry  with  singing. 

Younger  than  we  are, 
O  children,  and  frailer, 

Soon  in  blue  air  they'll  be. 
Singer  and  sailor. 

We,  so  much  older, 

Taller  and  stronger, 
We  shall  look  down  on  the 

Birdies  no  longer. 


They  shall  go  flying 

With  musical  speeches 
High  overhead  in  the 

Tops  of  the  beeches. 
108 


NEST  EGGS 

In  spite  of  our  wisdom 
And  sensible  talking, 

We  on  our  feet  must  go 
Plodding  and  walking. 


109 


THE  FLOWEK5 

~~*~~ i '        ~     ~  -  •*^- 


ALL  the  names  I  know  from  nurse: 
Gardener's  garters,  Shepherd's  purse ; 
Bachelor's  buttons,  Lady's  smock, 
And  the  Lady  Hollyhock. 


Fairy  places,  fairy  things, 

Fairy  woods  where  the  wild  bee  wings, 

Tiny  trees  for  tiny  dames — 

These  must  all  be  fairy  names! 


110 


THE  FLOWERS 

Tiny  woods  below  whose  boughs 
Shady  fairies  weave  a  house ; 
Tiny  tree  tops,  rose  or  thyme, 
Where  the  braver  fairies  climb ! 

Fair  are  grown-up  people's  trees, 
But  the  fairest  woods  are  these  ; 
Where,  if  I  were  not  so  tall, 
I  should  live  for  good  and  all. 


Ill 


SUMMER. 


GREAT  is  the  sun,  and  wide  he  goes 
Through  empty  heaven  without  repose; 
And  in  the  blue  and  glowing  days 
More  thick  than  rain  he  showeu  his  rays. 


112 


SUMMER   SUN 

Though  closer  still  the  blinds  we  pull 
To  keep  the  shady  parlour  cool, 
Yet  he  will  find  a  chink  or  two 
To  slip  his  golden  fingers  through. 

The  dusty  attic  spider-clad 
He,  through  the  keyhole,  maketh  glad  ; 
And  through  the  broken  edge  of  tiles, 
Into  the  laddered  hayloft  smiles. 

Meantime  his  golden  face  around 
He  bares  to  all  the  garden  ground, 
And  sheds  a  warm  and  glittering  look 
Among  the  ivy's  inmost  nook. 

Above  the  hills,  along  the  blue, 
Round  the  bright  air  with  footing  true, 
To  please  the  child,  to  paint  the  rose, 
The  gardener  of  the  World,  he  goes. 


113 


THE  DUMB 

SOLDIER 


WHEN  the  grass  was  closely  mown, 
Walking  on  the  lawn  alone, 
In  the  turf  a  hole  I  found 
And  hid  a  soldier  underground. 


114 


THE  DUMB   SOLDIER 

Spring  and  daisies  came  apace ; 
Grasses  hide  my  hiding  place  ; 
Grasses  run  like  a  green  sea 
O'er  the  lawn  up  to  my  knee. 

Under  grass  alone  he  lies, 
Looking  up  with  leaden  eyes, 
Scarlet  coat  and  pointed  gun, 
To  the  stars  and  to  the  sun. 


When  the  grass  is  ripe  like  grain, 
When  the  scythe  is  stoned  again, 
When  the  lawn  is  shaven  clear, 
Then  my  hole  shall  reappear. 


I  shall  find  him,  never  fear, 

I  shall  find  my  grenadier ; 

But  for  all  that 's  gone  and  come, 

I  shall  find  my  soldier  dumb. 

He  has  lived,  a  little  thing, 
In  the  grassy  woods  of  spring  ; 
Done,  if  he  could  tell  me  true, 
Just  as  I  should  like  to  do. 
115 


THE  DUMB  SOLDIER 

He  has  seen  the  starry  hours 
And  the  springing  of  the  flowers  ; 
And  the  fairy  things  that  pass 
In  the  forests  of  the  grass. 

In  the  silence  he  has  heard 
Talking  bee  and  ladybird, 
And  the  butterfly  has  flown 
O'er  him  as  he  lay  alone. 

Not  a  word  will  he  disclose, 
Not  a  word  of  all  he  knows. 
I  must  lay  him  on  the  shelf, 
And  make  up  the  tale  myself. 


116 


o 


AUTUMN  FIRE5 


IN  the  other  gardens 
And  all  up  the  vale, 
From  the  autumn  bonfires 
See  the  smoke  trail ! 

117 


AUTUMN    FIRES 


Pleasant  summer  over 

And  all  the  summer  flowers, 
The  red  fire  blazes, 

The  grey  smoke  towers. 


Sing  a  song  of  seasons ! 

Something  bright  in  all! 
Flowers  in  the  summer^ 

Fires  in  the  fall ! 


118 


THE  gardener  does  not  love  to  talk, 
He  makes  me  keep  the  gravel  walk  ; 
And  when  he  puts  his  tools  away, 
He  locks  the  door  and  takes  the  key. 

Away  behind  the  currant  row 
Where  no  one  else  but  cook  may  go, 
Far  in  the  plots,  I  see  him  dig, 
Old  and  serious,  brown  and  big. 

He  digs  the  flowers,  green,  red  and  blue, 
Nor  wishes  to  be  spoken  to. 
He  digs  the  flowers  and  cuts  the  hay, 
And  never  seems  to  want  to  play. 


119 


THE  GARDENER 

Silly  gardener  !  summer  goes, 
And  winter  comes  with  pinching  toes, 
When  in  the  garden  bare  and  brown 
You  must  lay  your  barrow  down. 


Well  now,  and  while  the  summer  stays, 
To  profit  by  these  garden  days, 
O  how  much  wiser  you  would  be 
To  play  at  Indian  wars  with  me  3 


DEAR  Uncle  Jim,  this  garden  ground 
That  now  you  smoke  your  pipe  around, 
Has  seen  immortal  actions  done 
And  valiant  battles  lost  and  won. 

Here  we  had  best  on  tip-toe  tread, 
While  I  for  safety  march  ahead, 
For  this  is  that  enchanted  ground 
Where  all  who  loiter  slumber  sound. 

Here  is  the  sea,  here  is  the  sand, 
Here  is  simple  Shepherd's  Land, 
Here  are  the  fairy  hollyhocks, 
And  there  are  Ali  Baba's  rocks. 

But  yonder,  see  !  apart  and  high, 
Frozen  Siberia  lies ;  where  I, 
With  Robert  Bruce  and  William  Tell, 
Was  bound  by  an  enchanter's  spell. 
121 


HISTORICAL  ASSOCIATIONS 

There,  then,  awhile  in  chains  we  lay, 
In  wintry  dungeons,  far  from  day  ; 
But  ris'n  at  length,  with  might  and  main, 
Our  iron  fetters  burst  in  twain. 

Then  all  the  horns  were  blown  in  town  ; 
And  to  the  ramparts  clanging  dowji, 
All  the  giants  leaped  to  horse 
And  charged  behind  us  through  the  gorse. 

On  we  rode,  the  others  and  I, 
Over  the  mountains  blue,  and  by 
The  Silver  River,  the  sounding  sea, 
And  the  robber  woods  of  Tartary. 

A  thousand  miles  we  galloped  fast, 
And  down  the  witches'  lane  we  passed, 
And  rode  amain  with  brandished  sword, 
Up  to  the  middle,  through  the  ford. 

Last  we  drew  rein — a  weary  three — 
Upon  the  lawn,  in  time  for  tea, 
And  from  our  steeds  alighted  down 
Before  the  gates  of  Babylon. 


122 


123 


I 


F  two  may  read  aright 

These  rhymes  of  old  delight 
And  house  and  garden  play, 
You  two,  my  cousins,  and  you  only,  may. 


You  in  a  garden  green 
With  me  were  king  and  queen, 
Were  hunter,  soldier,  tar, 
And  all  the  thousand  things  that  children  are. 


Now  in  the  elders'  seat 
We  rest  with  quiet  feet, 
And  from  the  window-bay 
We  watch  the  children,  our  successors,  play. 
1.25 


TO  WILLIE  AND   HENRIETTA 


"Time  was/'  the  golden  head 
Irrevocably  said  ; 
But  time  which  none  can  bind, 
While  flowing  fast  away,  leaves  love  behind. 


196 


My- 
MOTHER. 


^W/OU  too,  my  mother,  read 

A   Pbr  (ovc  of  unforfioften  times  , 
And  you  may  chance  to  hear  once  more 
Tfie  Hflk  feet  along  fhc  floor 


127 


TO  AUNTIE 

f    tllLj  of  our  courts  —  not  only  I, 
V      lJuf  all  your  dozen  of  nurslings  cry 
Maf  did.  f/ie  offer  c/u/ftrw  do? 

And  uAtf  tuere  c/v/dfidGof.ztxuiting  ycu? 


IPS 


.X 


TO  MINNIE. 


THE  red  room  with  the  giant  bed 
Where  none  but  elders  laid  their  head ; 
The  little  room  where  you  and  I 
Did  for  awhile  together  lie 
And,  simple  suitor,  I  your  hand 
In  decent  marriage  did  demand  ; 
The  great  day  nursery,  best  of  all, 
With  pictures  pasted  on  the  wall 
And  leaves  upon  the  blind — 
A  pleasant  room  wherein  to  wake 
And  hear  the  leafy  garden  shake 
And  rustle  in  the  wind — 
129 


TO   MINNIE 

And  pleasant  there  to  lie  in  bed 

And  see  the  pictures  overhead — 

The  wars  about  Sebastopol, 

The  grinning  guns  along  the  wall, 

The  daring  escalade, 

The  plunging  ships,  the  bleating  sheep, 

The  happy  children  ankle-deep 

And  laughing  as  they  wade: 

All  these  are  vanished  clean  away, 

And  the  old  manse  is  changed  to-day ; 

It  wears  an  altered  face 

And  shields  a  stranger  race. 

The  river,  on  from  mill  to  mill, 

Flows  past  our  childhood's  garden  still ; 

But  ah  !  we  children  never  more 

Shall  watch  it  from  the  water-door! 

Below  the  yew — it  still  is  there — 

Our  phantom  voices  haunt  the  air 

As  we  were  still  at  play, 

And  I  can  hear  them  call  and  say : 

'  How  far  is  it  to  Babylon  ?  ' 


130 


TO   MINNIE 

Ah,  far  enough,  my  dear, 
Far,  far  enough  from  here — 
Yet  you  have  farther  gone ! 
'  Can  I  get  there  by  candlelight  ? ' 
So  goes  the  old  refrain. 
I  do  not  know — perchance  you  might — 
But  only,  children,  hear  it  right, 
Ah,  never  to  return  again  ! 
The  eternal  dawn,  beyond  a  doubt, 
Shall  break  on  hill  and  plain, 
And  put  all  stars  and  candles  out, 
Ere  we  be  young  again. 
To  you  in  distant  India,  these 
I  send  across  the  seas, 
Nor  count  it  far  across. 
For  which  of  us  forgets 
The  Indian  cabinets, 

The  bones  of  antelope,  the  wings  of  albatross, 
The  pied  and  painted  birds  and  beans, 
The  junks  and  bangles,  beads  and  screens, 
The  gods  and  sacred  bells, 
And  the  loud-humming,  twisted  shells  ? 
The  level  of  the  parlour  floor 
Was  honest,  homely,  Scottish  shore  ; 
But  when  we  climbed  upon  a  chair, 
Behold  the  gorgeous  East  was  there  ! 
Be  this  a  fable ;  and  behold 
Me  in  the  parlour  as  of  old, 
And  Minnie  just  above  me  set 
In  the  quaint  Indian  cabinet ! 
131 


TO   MINNIE 

Smiling  and  kind,  you  grace  a  shelf 
Too  high  for  me  to  reach  myself. 
Reach  down  a  hand,  my  dear,  and  take 
These  rhymes  for  old  acquaintance*  sake 


132 


SOME    day    soon    this    rhyming   volume,    if  you 
learn  with  proper  speed, 

Little  Louis  Sanchez,  will  be  given  you  to  read- 
Then   shall   you   discover    that   your  name   was 

printed  down 

By    the    English    printers,    long    before,    in    London 
town. 

In   the   great   and   busy   city   where   the   East   and 

West  are  met, 

All  the    little    letters    did    the    English    printer  set; 
133 


TO   MY   NAME-CHILD 

While  you   thought   of  nothing,  and  were  still   too 

young  to  play, 
Foreign  people  thought  of  you  in  places  far  away. 

Ay,   and   while   you   slept,   a   baby,   over  all    the 

English  lands 
Other  little   children   took   the   volume   in   their 

hands ; 
Other   children   questioned,    in   their   homes   across 

the  seas : 
Who  was  little   Louis,   won't   you   tell   us,   mother, 

please  ? 


Now  that   you  have  spelt   your   lesson,  lay  it  down 

and  go  and  play, 
Seeking    shells   and    seaweed    on    the    sands    of 

Monterey, 

J34 


TO   MY   NAME-CHILD 

Watching  all    the   mighty  whalebones,  lying   buried 

by  the  breeze, 
Tiny  sandy-pipers,  and  the  huge  Pacific  seas. 

And  remember  in  your  playing,  as  the  sea-fog  rolls 

to  you, 
Long  ere   you  could  read   it,  how  I  told   you  what 

to  do  ; 
And  that  while  you  thought  of  no  one,  nearly  half 

the  world  away 
Some  one   thought   of  Louis   on   the    beach   of 

Monterey  ! 


lSf> 


TO     •      .• 

ANY- 

READER 


AS  from  the  house  your  mother  sees 
You  playing  round  the  garden  trees, 
So  you  may  see,  if  you  will  look 
Through  the  windows  of  this  book, 
Another  child,  far,  far  away, 
And  in  another  garden,  play. 
But  do  not  think  you  can  at  all, 
By  knocking  on  the  window,  call 
That  child  to  hear  you.     He  intent 
Is  all  on  his  play-business  bent. 
He  does  not  hear  ;  he  will  not  look, 
Nor  yet  be  lured  out  of  this  book, 
136 


TO   ANY   READER 

For,  long  ago,  the  truth  to  say, 
He  has  grown  up  and  gone  away, 
And  it  is  but  a  child  of  air 
That  lingers  in  the  garden  there. 


A     000  053  764     7 


